5th Wheel Reliability

valhalla360 wrote:
You are comparing an industry where a single model run is typically on the order of 20-80,000 units per year to an industry where a single model may put out a few hundred units per year. You can't expect the same level of statistical relaibility numbers to be available.

It's also not practical for the manufacturers to apply the same level of quality control without costs spiraling out of control.

Reality is the vast majority of manufacturers use the exact same hardware, frames, axels, appliances etc... There are likely some differences in the reliability of the actual assembly but after that they are all very similar.

Of course the high end manufacturers put out even smaller numbers than the low/mid range so it's even harder to create mass production efficencies and quality. Thier saving grace is they can afford to have people back check work and just cover warranty issues without a fight.

Don't expect there to ever be a reliability guide like you will find with cars.

I respectfully disagree that RV manufacturers cannot achieve car like quality at a reasonable cost. It is all attitude and intent. I was very much involved in the US auto Industry as an equipment supplier when they were getting their butt kicked by the Japanese over quality. When the US Auto Industry realized they had to do something, and now, about quality, they developed the right attitude about quality and starting doing what was needed. Not trying to "inspect quality in" like the RV Industry does now but to "Build it in" to begin with. When the US Auto Industry got serious about "building in" quality they made a surprising discovery their total costs of each vehicle went down. Partially due to lower warranty cost but also due to a more efficient assembly line. I've spent hundreds maybe even thousands of hours on Automobile assembly lines and let me assure you they used to be closer to the way RV's are built today than what you might believe. An example: Doors being adjusted for gap consistency with a 2 x 4 and a sledge. Doesn't that kind of sound like what goes on in the RV Industry today? I viewed that very thing when our bathroom door was out of alignment when we received it. The Dealer was told to beat on the frame with a piece of wood and a sledge. Higher quality leads to a lower overall cost product. The only reason the US Auto manufactures got serious about quality is because the customers detected much higher quality from the Japanese manufacturers and the US Manufacturers sales were taking a big hit. The problem in the RV industry is there really isn't any High Quality manufacturer to compete with and we customers keep buying the crap. So why should the RV industry change?